I take pleasure in taking this opportunity to serve SI Bangalore as its elected President for the next two years. My endeavour would be to focus on grassroots projects and help women and girls to achieve and enhance their individual as well as collective potential. In line with the saying that “to educate a woman is to educate an entire generation”, I, with the support from all of you, would like to focus on Education, Training and Career support through Garima, good health a

To fight the winds of intolerance and fascism that is blowing about all over the world, SI Bangalore and SI Whitefield decided to collaborate, to teach children the importance of peace and love in memory of Mahatma Gandhi. (Gandhi’s 125 th anniversary was commemorated in 1994 by UNESCO, fixed as the International Day of Tolerance on November 16.)   So the two clubs took up a joint project on December 10, World Human Rights Day, to implement NASI’s special theme of Amity in A

“I am so grateful for your help. If you had not helped me, I would not be able to continue my studies.” These were words straight from the heart of Priya, who just got enrolled into the Bachelor of Computer Math at Mount Carmel, thanks to the special scholarship funds from SIB, with tuition fees for 2021-2022. Another student from Class VII also continued her studies thanks to SIB.   Two girls got funding for the second time. They completed their PUC 12 th with flying colour

By Zarreen Babu   My son once attended a ‘human library’ and participated in the round table meet. It interested me a lot, so I researched the concept. I found that the first Human Library, called ‘Menneskebiblioteket’, was in Copenhagen in 2000. But it has spread to six continents and 85 countries. Our own cities, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata, conduct them too to connect and communicate. I was eager to use this as a project for our club to learn about new fields an

By Mamata Ghosh SIB’s schemes repaired the cruel COVID months of 38 women. On June 27, SIB partnered with an NGO, Safal, under United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to launch a workshop on marketing and financial linkages for 38 women micro-entrepreneurs in rural Devanahalli.   SIB provided financial aid to five women to restart their businesses. Four silkworm-rearers got subsidies from the government’s sericulture department and four retailers were facilitated with M

On September 13 , SIB planted 650 trees and creepers at Sondekoppa Village lake as a Centenary Project. NSS students of R.V. Engineering College took up the task of planting 650 saplings and agreed to maintain the trees. Some plants included mahogany, teak, pongamia, Couroupita guianensis, neem, silver oak, moringa and ficus, with environmental and medicinal properties. SIB partnered with RV College, as it had space for plantation, while its NSS students would maintain plants

Soft breezes and floral tributes to the toothless but beautiful smile of Mahatma Gandhi presided over the Centenary celebrations of Soroptimist International by its Bangalore Chapter. On October 2 , excited SI members, lit up in bright khadi and cotton sarees, gathered in the wide, open Koramangala post office grounds at 9.30 a.m.   SIB distributed 100 grocery ration kits, to ASHA (Accredited Social Health) workers. Each kit comprised of 5 kgs rice, 3 kgs dal, 3 kgs of wheat

It was big business with Biz Sakhis on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2021. SIB sponsored Assessment and Certification for 79 women, at Rs 500 each. They could finally take loans, start micro-enterprises and pursue business development.   It was heartwarming for SIB, with 79 women becoming entrepreneurs, or official ‘Biz Sakhis’. SIB enabled them to get certificates for entrepreneurial skills and development. Each was hosted by a government council called Management and

A small wonder, 14-year-old Vinisha Umashankar, presented an electrifying talk on her invention – an energy-saving solar ironing cart. It was a video demonstration that lit up the screen on February, 2021. Vinisha, the Thiruvannamalai star, has spent a large part of her life in UK, but shifted to India. She became the centre of attention during an SIB webinar on Environment and Climate Change. Her idea has already won her the Swedish Children’s Climate Foundation Award 2020 a

The mangrove project was remote, yet dear to our hearts. SIB gave Rs 10,000 to the South Kolkata (SISK) branch, so that we could help the club in their planting of 200 mangrove saplings at Sunderbans, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Each sapling cost Rs 50. The project benefitted not only the environment, but also families devastated by Cyclone Amphan. Many distressed women and their families could nurture and grow saplings as well as help to restore the fragile ecosystems and

In order to align with SDG 3, or Good Health and Well-being, SIB donated Rs one-and-a-half lakh to P D Hinduja Sindhi Hospital, in order to conduct 200 expensive dialysis treatments for about five to six poor patients over three months. SIB thus tackled the issue of good medical attention to diabetic patients.

At Garima, SIB’s cosy adda , desktops were donated to four girls from underprivileged sections, on November 27th . They included two children from school, a student from a Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA) and an engineering student. An SIB member helped to get the computers from Management RV College.   One girl who got a computer also received financial assistance from SIB for three years during her engineering degree course. It was SIB’s special moment of joy to hear

November 20 t h was a day to celebrate and give a leg-up to children. Three important days included in the November month were 14th: Children’s Day in India; 19th: World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse and the 20 th : International Children’s Day   SIB looked in at five village schools at Kanakapura Road to undertake the following activities at a cost of about Rs 28,000:   Distributed activity books, colour pencils, sweets and masks to 800 children and staff Gave awar

Even as 2020 swung into action with an unknown, dreaded virus that literally shut down half the world and sent it into a semi-coma stage, SIB made use of all these half-lit days to take some of its plans forward. Enabling Bangalore Environment Trust (BET) for enabling ASHA workers. On October 1, SIB donated Rs 34,000 to enable Bangalore Environment Trust (BET), so that they could sponsor 200 PPE kits for Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers. ASHA is an all-woman

On September 24, SIB decided to go with the flow and donated a couple of water purifiers to a couple of village panchayat schools. One purifier, with a 100-litre capacity, was given to the Chikkanahali Village Panchayat School, to benefit 150 students. The second water purifier, with a capacity of 50 litres, was donated to Dodderi Village Panchayat School, which houses 65 students – mostly girls.

On October 2, on the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, SIB launched two Evergreen projects. GARIMA (Dignity) The Club proudly presented its Vocational Training Center for Women’s Empowerment. This is hub for a number of short-term and long-term certified courses under a single, umbrella roof. Aiming at Educating, Empowering and Enabling women and girls, giving them certified courses for computer training, tailoring and making saree tassels, cloth and paper bags, cand

On World Literacy Day, October 16, 13 students of Class 8th and 9 th brought their room alive through extempore speeches. Three members – Vice-President Dr Prathibha Vinay, Organisational Development Officer Jhuma Guha and Zarreen Babu, a member, represented the club and also the judges for an extempore competition. They struggled to declare the winners, as all the students were clear and articulate. The rest of the class asked questions and interacted with them all the time

WOMEN’S DAY March 26th 2019 Zarreen Babu ‘HE for SHE’ is the solidarity movement for gender equality started by the UN. SIBangalore President, Mamatha Ghosh, went beyond the norm to say this can beachieved even better when there is a ‘SHE for SHE‘ movement. It illustrated what Dr.Tejaswani Anantkumar said – though the theme of this Women’s day is ‘Think Equal’,she disagrees with it. Women are not just equal, but are more than equal, becausethey always do more and go the extra

SIB is keen to help empower women and found its niche touch points by the end of March. Happy to sponsor 10 women who could learn and get empowered through ANTs Consultants, a skill development institute for quick vocational training and employment. The inmates learnt Data entry and Tally through a two-month course, after which all 10 will get placed in various relevant jobs.

In the shifting spring breezes of April end, SIB provided new and diverse candle moulds to keep the flame burning in Sneha Care Homes. President Mamta Ghosh made a visit to Sneha, the shelter for children and adults infected with HIV virus, so that she could enable the inmates to expand their candle-making workshops. The income the inmates made by selling the candles gives some attention to their day-to-day needs. SIB is excited to touch their lives and help them light the ca